Chicken and Dumplings

The days really are warming. There are the prettiest strawberries in the market. It might almost be time to daydream about watermelon wedges. But… I still need soup. The unapologetically comforting kind of soup with soft carrots, big bites of chicken, almost too much thyme, and the fluffiest floating dumplings.

It’s Winter comforts in Spring. Let’s bridge the gap. You know… like wearing a light scarf or shoes with no socks… except this is food and way way delicious.

Boneless and skinless chicken thighs to start. I like chicken thighs because they’re more fatty and flavorful than chicken breast. Always go for flavor!

The meat is seasoned well and browned in hot hot olive oil. This is where the layers of flavor begin.

Once the chicken is browned on each side it is removed from the pot and our vegetables are sautéed in the chicken oil. Dried thyme is added too. The saute heat helps bloom the flavor of dried seasoning.

Layers. More layers of flavor.

Once the veggies are softened a bit, time for the return of the chicken, this time with a bay leaf and chicken stock.

This is when the soup becomes soup! Veggies cooked down and chicken cooked through!

Green peas and fresh parsley to really brighten the whole pot.

Once the chicken is simmered to tender and cooked through, I remove it from the pan and chop-shred it. Technical term. I also burn the heck outta my fingers because the chicken is super steamy and I’m too impatient to wait for it to cool. Be like me!

Soup simmers and we make our dumplings.

Of course there’s butter.

I actually used King Arthur Gluten Free Flour Blend for these dumplings and they were delicious!

The butter is broken down into the seasoned flour mixture. A beaten egg and a bit of buttermilk to bring the dumpling dough together!

The batter will be homogenous, a little sticky but not too wet.

Ok! Game face! Time to dollop dumpling batter into simmering soup! (This is totally the best part!)

Grab a small spoon from the silverware drawer. Heap it up with about 2 tablespoons of dough and zing it right into the simmering soup.

Zing it!

Once all the dumplings are in and simmering, we cover the pot for 10 minutes to let the dumplings simmer and cook. It’s tremendous… like little biscuits in hot soup!

Warm and classic comfort in a bowl. And no… you’re not allowed to fish out all of the dumplings for your own consumption. I already thought of that and beat you to it.

Instructions

To make the soup, place oil in a heavy bottom soup pot over medium-high heat.

Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper on both sides. Place in the soup pan to brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and place on a plate. Chicken won’t be fully cooked through but it will return to the pot to simmer a bit later.

Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and thyme to the pot. Stir and saute until the onions are cooked through and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Return the chicken to the pot. Add the bay leaf and chicken stock.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are cooked through and softened, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Remove the chicken when it is cooked through and carefully chop and shred it. Return the chicken to the pan.

While the soup simmers. Make the dumplings. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, thyme, and pepper. Add the butter and use your fingers to break it down into the flour mixture creating small flecks of butter throughout the mixture.

Add the beaten egg and buttermilk and stir until just combined. Try not to over-stir the dumpling dough.

When the vegetables in the soup are cooked through and the chicken is chopped and returned to the pot, bring the soup to a light simmer and season to taste. Stir in peas and parsley. Use a small spoon to gently dollop about 2 tablespoons of dough into the simmering soup.

The dumpling may sink, but will rise to the surface of the soup as it cooks. Add all of the dumplings.

Cover the pot. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes the dumplings should be cooked through. Remove from heat and serve warm!

This is just like my mother’s recipe. So many times I see the dumplings rolled out and cut. No! This is the real deal. Looks lovely and delicious and I think I need to go make some right now. Thanks Joy. Yum.

Oh, Joy the Baker…. I’ve come down with a cold the last couple of days. I sat at my desk at work all day yesterday, thinking how I wish someone would make me chicken soup, because that’s what I was craving, and I still am… And here it is, just what I want. The broth looks so rich and inviting…I just want to dip my spoon in and enjoy the comfort. Just beautiful. <3

Love the way you frame your post…. “light scarf, shoes without socks,” for me it is the love of spring sweaters. Perhaps we need another season here for April… call it Sprinter… where you must eat Chicken and Dumplings! Love your blog.

Thank you for another awesome recipe. I have a quick question about the gluten free flour. Did you just replace the AP flour with the King Arthur gluten free flour or did you have to add the flour and another ingredient to make the dumplings rise properly and hold together? My son has a wheat allergy and while I can make just about anything gluten free, I haven’t managed to make good dumplings. My son is really excited about this recipe. Thanks so much for your help and all your delicious recipes!

I’ve never made dumplings before, but now I’m going to try! This is a really great recipe for the winter-to-spring limbo, especially here in Boston where our season is a little further behind you guys.